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Informal cruising!

Wellington

I booked this cruise about 5 months ago to celebrate my wife’s birthday. I bought it on a supposed “sale”. When things were done, the sale price was inflated by almost $ 1000. I bought a balcony cabin with the drinks package ( they then upcharge you on that to include tips - you have no option to decline that charge, so that pads the bill) and it does not cover all tips or taxes. They also threw in 150 minutes of free wifi, that mysteriously disappeared pretty quickly every time you used it. You have to sign out of the internet when you are done, you cannot just shut your computer down - tye internet keeps on going. When you board in Miami they charge you sales tax on the drinks you have ordered on the drinks package, until you get out to sea. The room was adequate - I personally thought it was a bit dark but that is just me. Next, you look for some bottled water in your room. Nope - you have to pay through the nose for water. Like $ 50-60 a case. That’s a pretty hefty markup, and I have never encountered this on any other cruise line. The scam I like the best is when you go to the specialty restaurants and you order a bottle of wine. Because you have the drinks package they give you a discount of 20% but when the bill arrives, fir sure tgey give you the 20% discount only to add it on as a “service charge” so the discount is not a discount at all. The most tacky thing about this cruise line is their private island. Every cruise line I have been on that has a private island, the drinks and food are a part of your ships package. Not at Needless Charges Line. They sell you drinks and food at greatly inflated prices on your credit card or cash. Ridiculous.Another needless charge was the TV- want to watch a movie, cough up $ 10.00 per movie and no over the air TV like CNN, etc. 

The food was good, the ship was nice, the venues were good, the staff were excellent. The only thing that hung over this cruise was the numerous outrageous ways they kept trying to upcharge you. I have been on 3 MSC cruises in the past year and they are excellent. Comparable food, staff and the entertainment on MSC is outstanding. The ships are beautiful as well. The cabins are brighter. I spoke to several people who agreed with me and they all said never again to Needless Charges Lines. I will let my feet do the talking and take my business over to MSC at a much better price without nickel and dimmg you.

NCL should stand for Needless Charges Line. 

Kusadasi

This was our 2nd time on the Joy the first time in Haven this time balcony plus. Which is bigger bathroom. Overall the ship was clean after the 3 week drydock. Due to weather and rough seas we spent most of our time inside. The activities were very limited and usually basic bean bag toss, language lessons and trivia in the atrium. Then there were the usual art, bingo, and other extra charge games. The shows were 2nd rate at there best, and some of the bar entertainers acted like they didn't want to be there? Food? Where should I start, dining room mediocre at best, Luke warm and slow service with menu repeated every other day. Lunch in Taste dining room appetizers and entree both served at same time after waiting 40 minutes. And they were cold. Buffet was not much better, old time smorgasbord would of been nice. Service in Buffet is nil. Cabin cleaned once a day around noon. Let me conclude this is our 82nd cruise and have been spoiled on other cruise lines, NCL not so much.

Half the service twice the gratuities 

We really enjoyed our time onboard. Super friendly everywhere we went and even though the ship was over capacity (we sailed with around 4400 passengers), we never had slow service in venues.  Consistently excellent.

We had a standard balcony cabin.  Room was modern, clean, good balcony space, comfortable bed, good size shower, lots of storage space, and good tv options for quiet times.

The main dining room was excellent each night we went and service was quick and friendly. We were last on the Jade 6 months prior and found both a huge step forward. Highlights included sirloin medallions, prime rib, and the best salmon I have had in a long time. Specialty restaurants offered a nice step up for an elevated experience (venues reviewed separately). The local was convenient, fast, and good. Buffet was meh however not much need with the other available options. 

Ocean Blue: Ambiance was very sophisticated and combined with the service offered a nice step up experience. Food was delicious.

Cagneys: Service was fast and friendly. Food was delicious

Amazing Service on a Great Cruise

Pre-Christmas Family Cruise. My wife and I are in our 50's, 3 adult children and a fiance' in their 20s. Our family has always enjoyed cruising. RCCL was our favorite line when the kids were young, NCL has been our favorite in recent years. (although the two of us loved Celebrity on a recent cruise without kids)

Overall, our recent cruise accomplished exactly what we were looking for.....a week away from our now separate lives to be together and enjoy family. We love the design of the newer NCL ships and find there is plenty to do to keep us entertained. 

However, on our recent cruise we found many changes that seemed to diminish the NCL product. Examples include the 2023 decision to limit stateroom service to once a day. I recognize that this change not only lessens the responsibility of the room stewards, but it also cuts the laundry work by perhaps 60% per day. But the change is notable. I have always appreciated turn-down service and fresh towels. Taking those away makes some economic sense, but removes the 'specialness' of cruise travel. Not a deal breaker, but just another thing that is no longer part of the cruise experience. Some issues that are a more notable change was poor service of public bathrooms. Went into multiple bathrooms that looked like they hadn't been serviced all day. No toilet paper on at least 3 occasions. Soap dispensers that worked ~50% of the time. These changes do not give a customer the sense of a quality vacation or a sanitary ship. Service around the buffet was also lacking. Tables were not bussed very quickly. Finally, the quality of the food continues to decline. In the past, I have read various comments about the quality of dining room food driving people to specialty restaurants. I have generally dismissed those comments because I have found the dining room food to be good.....not as good or special as 15-20 years ago, but still very good. On this cruise, there was one night where the top item on the menu was ROAST BEEF. On another night, the first dish on the menu was described as short ribs served over some special noodles. What we were served was a small amount of pot roast over some flat noodles. The decline in food quality extended to the Specialty restaurants....please see specifics below; but in a nut shell, the quality of the filet tried in 3 different restaurants was not up to par. 

In addition to VIBE passes, we also did the Free at Sea PLUS option. This provided us with unlimited WIFI, premium alcohol, unlimited bottled water, freshly squeezed juices, unlimited trips to the 2 Starbucks, $50 pp off any excusion.....some beach days cost only $29, and 2 additional specialty dinners. Some may say that the cumulative value is not quite $350, but I suspect the value is pretty close and it was nice not worrying about my 3rd cup of Starbucks or unlimited fresh squeezed OJ. 

Here are some specific comments both PRO and CON:

VIBE: Amazing!!!! Made our vacation. 140 passes sold on the entire ship. Always a lounger waiting for you. Great bar service from George and Happy. We purchased passes on the ship immediately after embarking at 11:30am. Try to purchase before the cruise. 

Casino: Dealers were excellent. Plenty of open tables at any time of the day. NCL definitely focused on providing a good gambling experience. Smoking only area available (which is great for non-smokers). Various table limits throughout the day starting at $10. Only complaint is lack of regular bar service. 

Speciality Restaurants:

Cagney's: Service not great. All food except steaks was great. Steaks just didn't have much flavor. 

Food Republic: Last year, we loved FR on the Encore. This year, it was by far the worse meal we had all week. Most items lacked flavor. Pad Thai was not good at all. Drink options were very good 

Ocean Blue: Very good meal. Lobster was excellent. Noted that Red Snapper, Halibut, and Swordfish were not on the menu. The fish options included Sea Bass, Grouper, and Salmon. Would have preferred at least one of the above as an option....was this another NCL cost saver?

LeBistro: Best dinner of the week. Duck was very good. Service excellent. Unlimited Veuve Champagne at this venue with the Free at Sea PLUS. Only issue was the Lobster Thermidor which was ordered by half our group. Great presentation, but the sauce over the lobster tasted like warmed concentrated Campbell's soup. 

Teppanyaki: Lots of fun. Good food. Large portions. Great Service. 

Q BBQ: This place is under the radar, but the food was excellent. Service was very good. And country band entertaining throughout. 

Entertainment: 

Elements: Very Good show. Magic, Dancing, Great sets

Comedians: OK

Beatles Shows: Good singers, but not much personality. 

Need to comment on BINGO.......this has become a crazy revenue source over the years. I recall in 1993 on the Norway. The jackpot bingo game was for ~ $3K......and that was given away on the last day GUARANTEED. Cards probably cost $15. In 2023, final jackpot bingo costs either $79 or $99 to play. The final blackout game pays out the Jackpot only if accomplished in 47 numbers. Look it up, the odds of getting a blackout in 47 numbers is less than 1 in 500. In fact the Bingo leader said no one had accomplished that in the past 4 months. So, they have a room full of Bingo players....perhaps 300 people. Each paying about $100 to play. They give away $175 in the first game, $700 in the second game, and $1500 in the last game. The Free Cruise raffle sounds great, but if you win you get a 5 day cruise, inside cabin, cant be taken during holidays, Spring Break, or Summer. Think about what NCL ships have 5 day cruises during those times.....hint: NCL Sun. Inside cabin. So the Free Cruise = $600 value at most. 

I hate to be negative. We usually aren't. And again, our family had a great time together. But I was just a bit worried about a quality drop this year on the Joy as opposed to last year on the Encore.

Is NCL slipping?

Big ship. Alot of people. Dont know who though thought of doing alot of the interior colors dark brown. Miss the light pastels of a Caribbean ship. Of course, everything is getting expensive. We liked the Manhattan dining room and had great waiters. The buffet was terrific as well especially the salad bar. The shows were excellent - Mr and Mrs Fefekov was one not to miss - acrobatic, dance, mime... Elements shows were good too. Comedians Flip Schultz and Clinton Jackson were funny. Did not do excursions as they were expensive. In Coxen Hole Roatan walked to end of cruise port and got Ernesto of Johnny Bravo Roatan tour walked us to the animal preserve ($10) and we went into tour the animal preserves $30 for both of us. There is a restaurant there with wi-fi and easy walk back to ship. In Costa Maya leave cruise port, get a cab $4 a piece and go to Mahajual and have him take you to Kracken restaurant. For $10 a person will get a beach chair and a drink. Beach lovely, go swim and walk the boardwalk before you go back to cruise port. $36 excursion not bad. Private island Harvest Caye see wildlife exhibit, go swimming in ocean then the lovely pool there and back to ship. They offer electric golf carts as the pier walk is long. Cozumel now the mega mall of cruise ports. Five ships in port. Port was crowded. Just hung out at port then back to ship. Buy some vanilla to take home for those that cook. Overall, a good cruise. Did not see much of the cruise director unlike you do on other cruises. If you want to swim or use hot tub do so when people are off the ship as it does get crowded. Casino looked sleepy the whole trip. Not sure why. Overall enjoyed the cruise. Weather was good.

THE JOY WAS FINE

Having sailed on Joy's sister ship, Bliss, a couple of times previously, my DH and I looked forward to this bucket-list cruise through the Panama Canal on the Joy. While it was great to be back cruising after 3 years away due to the pandemic, it wasn't all that we remembered before the shutdown.

Embarkation: Was absolutely a cluster as has been typical of past NCL cruises. We arrived 30 minutes later than our arrival time due to transportation issues (as provided by NCL) and waited several hours to board the ship. There were lines outside in the heat, and much confusion as staff members took/checked bags from some folks in line outside, leaving others to wait and swelter. Disembarkation was similar, and we would have missed our flight had we not scheduled an early night flight instead of an afternoon one.

Room & Room Steward: Room was as expected and seemed to be in good condition. Room steward, Wilbur, was a highlight and an absolute gem. He knocked on the door to introduce himself immediately upon our arrival, and accommodated our request to clean our room before 2pm each day to allow for a pre-dinner nap. He also provided extra towels as requested each day. He was fast, efficient, and almost invisible, except happily greeting us when we saw him in passing in the hallway.

Buffet Food & Times: This was absolutely one of the lowest parts of this cruise. The buffet food was never at proper temp, despite picking our table prior to perusing the items, and then finally taking a (covered) plate to immediately return to our seat and eat. The Beef Barley soup contained not one bit of barley, the Chicken Noodle soup contained no chicken or noodles, and the meat was tough and low grade. Don't get me started on the strange desserts that are mostly made with some gelatin product...would it kill NCL to have actual cake with frosting? It seems so based on the disgusting desserts encountered. In addition, the buffet closed too early for meals (10:30am for breakfast, as an example) and could have been improved with a small, continental section containing fruit, yogurt, and edible pastries for late risers or those that don't prefer to eat a large breakfast early in the morning. We also missed having an International Café as we experienced on Princess, in which we could grab cookies and milk for a late-night snack after watching a show.

MDR & Specialty: Service was prompt and professional as has been our experience in the past. Drinks from the bar did take significant amounts of time, so much so that we started bringing multiple glasses to dinner with us to prevent waiting. Food quality has drastically slipped from 2020, with only bread and salads being of consistent quality. Entrees seemed like they were dried out/overcooked, with few selections available on the menu that appealed. As an example, the pineapple chicken entrée was tiny bits of overcooked chicken breast skewered with pineapple, served atop rice. There was no sauce, no coconut flavor to the rice as expected, and contained approximately 5 bites of chicken. It felt like a dish one would expect at an elementary school cafeteria. The Specialty restaurants visited, Le Bistro and Cagney's, were a step down from previous years and felt like more of the MDR quality of the past. Highlight was Cream of Mushroom soup at Le Bistro...despite having Filet and Coq au Vin...neither of which delighted.

Entertainment: Highly lacking on a ship of this size and duration of cruise. Partook in Beatles show in Joy Theater along with Elements. Poolside entertainment was good and enjoyed watching fellow cruisers dance on pool deck. Pool closed for several days due to windy conditions, and when open, was way too small for a ship of this size.  Venues too small for several events including the Atrium, especially during unexpected sea days due to weather.

Overall, this cruise was a large disappointment. Will be looking at other cruise lines for our next few cruises to determine if the decreased quality is industry-wide.

More Meh than Joy on this Cruise

This cruise for the money was awesome for a 10 day cruise in a balcony room we spent $3,200 this included drinks, gratuities, 3 specialty meals, & limited Wifi. There are "hidden" fees of $20 per person per day for a room clean but we were aware of this before hand and factored it into our budget. With that being said the trip to me felt well worth the money. The entertainment that was onboard was great however at times it felt a bit limited and on sea days we might have had a couple hours were it felt there wasn't much to do. The Beetles band was fantastic and the element show was fun. We enjoyed all the food and the menu didn't feel repetitive even on a 10 day sailing. The teppenyaki was the best meal/experience we had, while the food was like any other Japanese steakhouse the cooks really elevate the experience. After reading the reviews prior to our sailing we got a little worried but my recommendation is if you find a sailing that is a good price go for it. 

A couple small negatives that I found annoying

-Make espresso free even just after dinner or in a alcoholic drink (I understand there is a Starbucks but the coffee is free why not the espresso) 

-Give small prizes or at least recognition to the trivia winners(we didn't win any but we also didn't even know who won some because they didn't ask who had the most correct)

-Our embarkation process was a bit ugly and it was mostly because of unclear instructions(we cruised out of panama and it was the first time this ship had set sail from there so it was a bit messy) 

-Get rid of the American burger joint specialty dinning no one is ever there and it just feels like a waist of outdoor deck space which this boat is limited on

Great if you know what to expect 

We have always been against cruising; we don't enjoy being stuck in one place; get bored at all-inclusives and prefer road trips where we can go where the wind takes us. We fell into this because the itinerary was great with only 2 sea days and the price was so low.

We went in with no expectations.

Our son doesn't even like planes or boats but got excited due to the ship having laser tag and a Beatles cover band. Our son has Down syndrome and we were unsure how he would be received by crew, particularly in the kids club. We need'nt have worried; pretty much the entire ship knew him by day 2. Lol. 

Our balcony room, 10806, was small but had a large angle balcony that was perfect for going through the canal. Huge thanks to the NCL agent that booked us!!

We lived everything about the cruise, truly. 

There were a few areas we saw that could use improvement: main area where they did a lot of games and such on 6 didn't have  enough seating so there were always uncomfortable folding chairs. Also, we understood the staffing issues, but the laser tag and Galaxy Pavilion were rarely open.

Service and drinks were great. Kids club staff was the BEST.

Incredible first cruise!!

We wanted to cruise all the way through the canal. We had an in-depth excursion(7 hours) learning about the history and going through the locks on a ferry. A few days before we arrived at the canal we were told that we would not have that excursion day because we could not dump our waste at the port.  We had to go 14 hours out to sea and it would take that time off our itinerary. I am amazed that NCL didn't make arrangements in advance of the cruise to do what is a standard procedure. 

This was not the first time they were cruising this route. We.got our excursion cost back but there was no further compensation.

The food was sub-par and the complimentary restaurants all served the same menu. Not much variety.

We saw our cabin steward once on the first day and then only passing in the hall for the rest of the cruise.

Overall the experience was.not what we expected.

Disappointed

We wanted to go through the Panama Canal and this ship went to one of our favorite islands curaçao  first of all, we bought a larger balcony cabin. Do not ever upgrade your balcony cabin or wind up above the tavern. Our room and the one next to it are right above the karaoke bar and where the bands play. You do not hear it in the hall but the minute you open the door the sound comes blaring out and doesn’t stop u til 10:30 or 11:30 every night. They also use it to practice during the day so the walls shake. Our glasses of water shook. Our neighbors and us finally got moved but they did t want to reimburse us for the downgrade because they said “we chose to move”. It took over 3 days to get them to change their minds and reimburse the difference in cost. Then no one got the Panama City excursions because we had to go out in the pacific to apparently dump waste and get new water in the system. Do not plan on a decent pool experience. The two pools are smaller than our home pool and do not slope. They are deep. You have to tread water and climb the ladders in and out especially if you’re 5’2” like me.  The “Elements” show was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. We actually saw it twice because there was so little in the way of entertainment on the ship and most of it was in the small bars that didn’t seat many people.  I don’t think stacking up plastic cups and timing it as being entertainment or stacking them with sheets of paper in between and trying to pull the paper out without them falling over. We have take. Many many cruises over the years. Most cruise lines are good. We went on celebrity twice earlier this year and had amazing entertainment and they didn’t nickel and dime us. I’ve never heard of water not being in the drink package and charging over $5.50 a paper container for it and a 20% service charge. Usually they hand out bottles of water as you get off the ship and you can go to any bar on the ship and get a bottle of water by showing your card. Not here. Really?  You’re in the tropics here down by Columbia and Venezuela. It’s hot!  Plus $20.00 per person per day per cabin service charge is outrageous. If you have a family of 4 staying in a no balcony room you are paying $80.00 per day cleaning fee or $800.00 additional dollars on a 10 day cruise which is insane on those inside cabins. The same price as a balcony room pays. I hope the people on this cruise who had never cruised before try another cruise line.   My husband and I had never ever seen the amount of charges added to a room fee on a cruise in our life. Even with the full drink package they added an extra 20% gratuity charge on each drink to our card. They also had the smallest coffee cups this world has ever seen and absolutely no one in the buffet area ever came around to refill any one’s ever!  No “to go” cups available to take coffee to your room.

If this cruise was your first cruise experience, I am sooo very sorry!

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